Paul Merson has stark warning for Ruben Amorim, predicts Man Utd vs Nottingham Forest

Add as preferred source on Google

Ruben Amorim will be desperate to get Manchester United back in the win column on Saturday against Nottingham Forest.

Manchester United were on the losing end of Wednesday night’s game against Arsenal, with two corners undoing the brilliant defensive structure Ruben Amorim had implemented for most of the game.

While Amorim would not have wanted to lose, it is a result which will remind fans that he needs time to get his footballing philosophy implemented at Old Trafford.

United outclassed Arsenal in the first half, but it was ultimately the set pieces which saw the Gunners scrape a 2-0 win over United.

Amorim has already highlighted how he can get a better result in January – but attention now turns toward Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

• READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Man Utd’s head coach – Ruben Amorim

Paul Merson predicts Man United vs Nottingham Forest

Ahead of the fixtures this weekend which will be match day 15 for United, Paul Merson has been predicting the result with his weekly column on SportsKeeda.

“This is a difficult game for Manchester United. If Nottingham Forest can play like they did against Liverpool at Anfield earlier this season, it will be a problem for the hosts at Old Trafford.

“Manchester United were disappointing against Arsenal. They looked comfortable in the first half, but it felt like they were only playing for a draw.

“Forest may have lost to Manchester City the other day, but I think they will cause problems at Old Trafford. They are good down the wings and this could hurt Manchester United. I’m going for a draw here.”

Merson predicted a 2-2 scoreline between United and Forest – a result at Old Trafford which Amoirm would not want to see. This would also leave next weekend’s tie against Manchester City a far tougher task as confidence won’t be high.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
7	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	14	6	4	4	16	16	0	22
8	Aston VillaAston Villa	14	6	4	4	22	23	-1	22
9	B’mouthBournemouth	14	6	3	5	21	19	2	21
10	TottenhamTottenham	14	6	2	6	28	15	13	20
11	BrentfordBrentford	14	6	2	6	27	26	1	20
12	NewcastleNewcastle	14	5	5	4	17	17	0	20
13	Man UtdManchester United	14	5	4	5	17	15	2	19
14	West HamWest Ham	14	4	3	7	18	27	-9	15
15	EvertonEverton	14	3	5	6	14	21	-7	14
16	LeicesterLeicester	14	3	4	7	19	28	-9	13
17	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	14	2	6	6	12	18	-6	12
18	IpswichIpswich	14	1	6	7	13	25	-12	9

With the returns of the likes of Amad Diallo to the starting line-up, we would be more expecting a win over Forest despite their strong season.

Beating Nuno Espirito Santo’s side would see United go above them in the table.

Ruben Amorim ‘outwitted’ Mikel Arteta

In the column, Merson also discussed United’s defeat to Arsenal, admitting that Amorim actually outsmarted Arteta in the game for the first half.

“I actually thought Amorim outwitted Mikel Arteta in that first half. Manchester United were so comfortable and Arsenal did not look like scoring apart from that missed header by Thomas Partey. But this is the Premier League, not the Portuguese league and that’s just not good enough if you’re Manchester United.

“I thought it was a very negative approach from Ruben Amorim. Manchester United fans need to be patient. It will take time for them to get the results they desire but Amorim will eventually get it right because he is a good manager.”

This is a verdict which is actually close to being spot on, although so early in Amorim’s reign with such a small amount of time to coach his style, United were always going to play on the pragmatic side.

But Amorim showed his brilliance in defeat which is very exciting.